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Intro Story
Jeffrey walked up the grassy incline toward the cabin. Smoke puffed out of the chimney as if it were 18th century New England again, and while the cold wind and grey streaked clouds clogged the sky, the ample lights of the Jetta sitting at the base of the hill gave away the more proper time period. Wind chimes hanging on the porch clicked and clinked rhythmically in tune. The first step Jeffrey took unto the porch gave a loud creak as the aged wood of the cabin sagged under his weight. Just how old was this place? The lights were on inside, but there was no sound. No sense of movement. Jeffrey didn't seem afraid, but he looked about before continuing down the porch and turning into the cabin's open front door. There, standing just inside the cabin, leaning pensively against the wall and starring into the lively fire of the hearth, was Thanelus. Thanelus went by Timothy nowadays, but Jeffrey preferred the older names of his Order to the newer, simpler epithets people wore. Jeffrey wanted to speak to Thanelus, he wanted to ask the man what was wrong - but the sight he found waiting for him in the cabin left him speechless. Four bodies lay on the floor, their necks and arms crushed, their faces lifeless and eyes vacant. Their skin was white as sheet paper, rigor mortis was surely soon to set in. "My God and my all," Jeffrey said, stopping to cross himself at the threshold of the door. Thanelus did nothing, he didn't appear angry but he stayed leaning against the wall. His booted heels occasionally clanked against the floorboards as he shifted his weight. Not because he needed too, but out of habit. Immortals must learn to move about, and even fidget, like mortals so as to fit in. For Thanelus, the movements were entirely reflexive. But the heartache he felt wasn't. "I tried to stop him," Thanelus said, pointing to the dead man, clearly the father, "I told him what would happen if he tried to summon his dead wife back. He promised me he wouldn't. I left and came back to find them like this." "This was recent then?" "Just this morning." "Where?..." "Out in the woods. The nearest habitation is five clicks away, more then enough time to cover the distance and stop... the thing. It doesn't exactly move fast." "Thanelus, I'm sorry." "You didn't do this. He did." "Are you angry at him?" "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't angry. But I understand, he was weak, and the temptation so very strong. Still, I cannot believe he attempted to use the tome while his children were on the premises. From what I gather, she-it-attacked and killed him, then his children ran in to see what happened. Then it turned on them." Jeffrey checked the positions of the bodies, the man was slumped against the wall near the hearth. The children, all of them in their late teens, were near the doorway. Thanelus said nothing. Jeffrey felt awkward. "Thanelus, you didn't make a mistake." "I should have taken the tome, by force if necessary." "You are not a cop. You were not in a position to do such a thing. He had free will." "And the children?" "I've seen these arguments, Thanelus, as old as these hills they are. And often they go on just as long. There are many possibilities, many things you could have done or not done. You didn't take it, you left, and then he did this," Jeffrey motioned across the cabin, "it was his choice and his actions that directly caused this. The blame lands on him." "Still, I wonder...." "Yes, that is precisely it! You wonder. And yet you do not understand? Because you are not thinking with your head and soul, you are musing with your heart. You are feeling your pain over and over again, but to feel something is not to understand it. Let your mind rest, and insight will eventually come to you if God wills it. Otherwise, you will stay here in this cabin forever, figuratively or literally." Thanelus finally moved, but only to look at Jeffrey; "What do you think?" "I think you did your best, and it wasn't enough. But you did good in your eyes, and that is what matters. Now," Jeffrey turned to walk out of the cabin, "I must contact the others, and then the police. They will have questions. If that thing reaches someone else, it will kill them. I pray a poor hiker or camper hasn't already joined this family. I suggest you get moving." Jeffrey left, leaving Thanelus to watch the empty space Jeffrey was just occupying. With a sudden kick in his spirit, Thanelus looked at the dead bodies one last time and left the small cabin interior. On the way out the door, he recited the medieval Prayer for the Dead. Two and a half clicks away, Thanelus was moving rapidly across the terrain, his limbs a blur beneath him. He had followed its trail and the path led directly to a small grove of trees. In the middle of which was a standing, skulking figure that sort of resembled a woman, but the skin was putrid green, the hair matted and greasy, and the thing moved as if its bones were not quite right within its sack of skin and organs. Thanelus raced down the hill and screamed a war cry, causing the creature with dead eyes to turn and watch him as he charged it and bashed it in the head with his fist. The thing was inhuman, it had incredible strength and durability, but it was no match for a member of the Order of Immortals.